ApplePeach This is one of those soups I tried… and instantly fell head over heels for! I actually stumbled across the recipe in a book I had borrowed from the library, Ultimate Soup Maker. Now, I should confess: I didn’t actually use a soup maker! I simply used a regular pot on the hob, but it still turned out absolutely brilliant!
My son is typically incredibly difficult to persuade into eating soup. No matter the variety, he avoids it at all costs! So, it was a wonderful surprise when this one, quite unexpectedly, became one of his absolute favourites. I’m not sure if it’s the lovely warmth from the chillies or just the winning combination of flavours, but he happily ate it every single time I offered it! Needless to say, it made me chuckle and feel as though I’d just won the gold medal in a huge sporting event with at least a thousand competitors!
If you’d like to try preparing this gorgeous dish yourself, you’ll find the required ingredients and the step-by-step instructions in the recipe card below.
But before you dive in, here are a few little tweaks I made!
The original recipe called for frozen spinach. As I didn’t have any on hand, I simply used fresh spinach instead!
If you opt for fresh spinach, you’ll want to boil some water in a large, deep pot. Once the water is at a rolling boil, carefully start adding the spinach. Let it boil for just a minute, then immediately drain it, ideally using a colander. After about five minutes, once the spinach has cooled down a little, you can chop it up and use it exactly as you would the frozen variety.
My other change concerns the main vegetable: the recipe stipulated 1kg of pumpkin. However, the squash I had was quite small, so I ended up using a mix of 500g of pumpkin and 500g of sweet potato. Please feel free to use either one or a combination of both—the finished result is always marvellous!
Now then, if you’re up for a little kitchen adventure, do pop down to the grocery store to gather everything you need and start preparing this truly wonderful, tasty, and flavourful soup!
I sincerely hope you enjoy it every bit as much as we do!
Recipe
Spicy Pumpkin and Spinach
Ingredients
Method
- If you are using fresh spinach, boil some water in a large, deep pot. Once the water is at a rolling boil, carefully start adding the spinach. Let it boil for just a minute, then immediately drain it, ideally using a colander. After about five minutes, once the spinach has cooled down a little, you can chop it up and use it exactly as you would the frozen variety.
- Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot or saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes until they have fully softened.50 g butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1 onion
- Tip in the pumpkin (or pumpkin/sweet potato mix) and continue to cook, stirring well, for a further 3 to 4 minutes.1 kg pumpkin
- Add the measured spices and stir thoroughly to ensure the pumpkin pieces are fully coated.1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice
- Simmer: Pour in the vegetable stock and stir in the spinach. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and leave it to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.1 l vegetable stock, 150 g spinach
- Once the simmering time is up, turn off the hob and allow the soup to cool slightly before blending.
- Meanwhile, place a non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat. Dry-fry the pumpkin seeds for 2 to 3 minutes until they are lightly golden and toasted, making sure to shake the pan or stir them often. Set the toasted seeds aside.2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
- Working in batches, carefully ladle a portion of the soup into a blender or Nutribullet. Secure the lid and blend the soup until it is completely smooth and all chunks have disappeared.
- Pour the blended soup into a second clean, dry pot. Repeat the blending process until the entire quantity of soup is smooth and combined in the second pot.
- Season the creamed soup with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls, sprinkle generously with the toasted pumpkin seeds, and finish with a light drizzle of olive oil.4 tsp olive oil, salt, pepper